Netball PNG prioritises reforms

By PATRICIA KEAMO
WHILE sports in the country have been handicapped all year amid the pandemic, Netball Papua New Guinea has had its activities hampered since 2020 due to its Rita Flynn Complex being used for Coronavirus (Covid-19) operations.
Rita Flynn is the home of netball in the country and the Papua New Guinea Pepes, who are ranked 34th in the world.
Over the years, numerous championships and competitions were hosted at the facility, most notably the netball competition of the 2015 Pacific Games.

However, for 2021, the multi-purpose facility has been used for Covid-19 operations, serving as an isolation, testing and vaccination centre for people in the National Capital District and Central.
Due to its main facility being occupied, the sport’s national governing body has not been able to host any major competitions or tournaments this year.
PNG’s biggest netball association, Port Moresby Netball Association (POMNA) – from where the majority of the Pepes are selected –was unable to hold a second-straight season due to the pandemic.
A number of Central and National Capital District associations staged their own tournaments this year.

Earlier this year, Motu-Koita West Netball Association held its competition at Hanuabada, which attracted teams from nearby villages. For the first time, a male division was introduced.
In June, Alotau’s netball precinct came alive through a mixed sevens tournament after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 restrictions.
Apart from Milne Bay’s Alotau Netball Association, Kairuku-Hiri Netball held a tournament at Barakau and Rigo Netball staged its event at Gomore.
Hula held its annual Iga Papaka Cup and Motu-Koita South Netball Association held its competition at Southside Fitness Centre in Moresby South.
Netball PNG facilitated a mini super league competition at Port Moresby’s Sir John Guise Indoor Complex in August, which saw three national squad teams competing against POMNA sides.
Most of these tournaments and competitions were staged just to maintain interest in the sport, given the lengthy hiatus.
But Netball PNG executives were always attended the events just to see the level of talent at the village and urban levels as well as driving the agenda for developing the sport with increased participation, especially in the youth divisions.
Most of the associations that held their competitions were preparing for the national championships, where their elite players would be selected for the Pepes squad for upcoming international duties, including the Netball World Youth Cup, Commonwealth Games, Pacific Mini Games and the 2023 Pacific Games.
Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 situation, Netball PNG eventually cancelled the championship.

Earlier this year, the Pepes were training at the Sir John Guise Indoor Complex to maintain their fitness, however, that was also interrupted by the Covid-19 restrictions.
An international event that the national Under-21 squad were preparing for since last year, was the Netball World Youth Cup, scheduled for Dec 2-11 in Fiji.
However, again, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the International Netball Federation cancelled the event in March.
This did not leave much for the fraternity to work towards, competition-wise both domestic and internationally.
President Ulato Avei said thefederation was now focused on reforming the competition structure by focusing more on the U15, U17, U19 and U21 divisions, where players would follow development pathways to the senior team.
“We’re reforming the competition structure which includes having one team per province participate in the national championships as opposed to previous years where each districts bring their teams to the national tournament,” she told The National.
“Not only does the new structure save cost, but it also allows each district to have their own competitions to select the best team players to form the provincial contingent.
“That way, we’ll have less teams competing in the national championships.
“Each provincial contingent will be made up of the best players, so we can be able to select elite netballers and develop them for our national team.”

Avei said her federation was working towards implementing that structure before the national championships next year.
When asked whether the federation would be selecting the Pepes squad for 2022 international duties, Avei said Netball PNG was focused on restructuring its competitions first.
Despite a challenging year, Netball PNG received assistance from Netball Australia and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to help develop the sport through the Pacific Women’s Sports Administration programme.
Under an agreement with the department and Netball Australia, there are three initiatives – team up, high performance and official development assistance (ODA) – that will be facilitated
“We are appreciative of the department’s assistance and we look forward to working with Netball Australia,” Avei said.
“These programmes are timely and greatly needed as the federation is at the stage of implementing reforms to improve the capacity and standard of Netball in PNG.
“With ODA, we are in the process of recruiting a chief executive and development manager.
“These are key positions that are expected to raise the standard of netball through the high performance initiative, and up-skilling of coaches, umpiring and bench officials.
“The high performance initiative is key to raising the standard of athletes’ performance.”
Avei said netball was the biggest female sport in the country, but funding was limited due to the lack of inclusion in the Government and private sector gender equality policy frameworks.
She said the federation would now focus on delivering structured programmes to gain recognition from the Government and private sector.
With support from DFAT and Netball Australia as well as the federation’s aim to reform its competition structure.
There are promising times ahead for PNG netball and the 2015 Pacific Games silver medal-winning Pepes.